K-Pop Group Gives Rousing Speech About Acceptance to UN

“No matter where you’re from, skin color, gender identity, just speak yourself,” a member of K-pop group BTS told the United Nations. During a speech at the Generation Unlimited launch, an organization hoping to ensure every young person has access to a better future, the world-famous boy band made a rousing speech about acceptance for every youth.

One member, RN, talked of the long road he’s walked to get to where he is today. “I tried to jam myself into the other molds that other people made,” he said. “Soon, I began to shut out my own voice and listen to the voice of others. No one called out my name and neither did I. My heart stopped and my eyes closed shut. Like this, I—we—all lost our names. We became like ghosts. But I had one sanctuary, and that was music.”